Death of stand-out Ohio student determined to be caffeine overdose

LAGRANGE, Ohio – The sudden death of an Ohio high school student has been traced back to something almost everyone consumes every day–caffeine.

Just days before graduation, Logan Stiner, 18, was found unresponsive at his family’s home. Early into the investigation, police said they had ruled out foul play in the teen’s death.

The death of Stiner, a top five student in his class, prom king, and wrestling star, shocked the community.

His autopsy didn’t reveal anything, but additional blood tests were conducted after a family member found a bag of caffeine. That blood test revealed Stiner had more than 70 micrograms of caffeine in his body. 50 micrograms is considered toxic.

“This is news to the coroner’s office, we had never seen this before,” said Dr. Stephen Evans, the Lorain County Coroner.

The mixture of caffeine was so potent, it became poisonous.

Caffeine powder isn’t illegal in Ohio and it’s available online, but just one teaspoon mixed with water is like drinking 30 cups of coffee in one sitting.

Michaelangelo

Amanda

The first paragraph here is misleading. We do not consume raw caffeine on a daily basis. There really is a tiny amount of caffeine in a cup, even a pot of coffee. You literally cannot drink yourself to caffeine death with coffee (its a diuretic). BUT raw caffeine is incredibly potent and dangerous. It used to be only available to chemists. This kid should never have had access to it and anyone who isnt aware of its potency and dangers should not have access to it. Sorry for the family’s loss.

Branko Pezdi

A cup of coffee contains on the order of 100 mg of caffeine. This translates to 0.1 grams and 100,000 micrograms. If, as the article states, one teaspoon of caffeine is equivalent to 30 cups of coffee, then one teaspoon of caffeine is 3 GRAMS. Furthermore, then 5 GRAMS of caffeine is toxic. The kid most likely consumed 7 GRAMS of caffeine.